By Gabrielle Ford, Benjamin Carson Staff Writer
From the moment Tonya Mosley walked into the Detroit Free Press building when she was in eighth grade, she knew what her future looked like.
"I felt like I was in the center of the universe! From that moment on I knew that I would be a journalist,” Mosley said.
Mosley is now a broadcast contributor to Al Jazeera America Television. She also contributes to the No. 1 radio talk station in Seattle. She writes for several local and national publications and she's in the early stages of producing a documentary.
When Mosley was growing up in Detroit, she found an early model in Mitch Albom's writing.
“At around 9 years old I began reading the Detroit Free Press everyday as a hobby," Mosley says."I was especially drawn to Mitch Albom's sports columns. I was drawn by his ability to craft a compelling narrative around sports. Of course he now uses those talents to write bestselling books, films and TV shows.”
Mosley later went on to become an apprentice at the Free Press while attending Redford High School, was a founding member of the now defunct Free Press published newspaper “Motown Teen,” and was awarded the Ford Motor Company scholarship to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“I think back to when I first discovered Mitch Albom, and what drew me to him was his ability back then in the early 90's, to forge a nontraditional path of telling stories across multiple platform,” says Mosley. “As a journalist today, you must be nimble and open to knowing that there are so many places to share content and many ways to do it. Be open, inquisitive and prepared to work hard.”
Her career in journalism has offered many rewards for Mosley.
“My career has and will continue to take me so many places that I would have never had the opportunity to experience otherwise,” Mosley said. “From natural disasters to the living rooms of the ordinary and the extraordinary, from the ice caves in rural Alaska to the covering the presidential election, I am always surprised and in awe of what I learn from people and the world around us."
